Frequently Asked Questions

Terms and Conditions of Usage Can I use HTML in my posts? Why didn't my new message appear in the discussion? How do I use identity profiles? How do I navigate the postings? Can you explain the thread format? How do I use the cookie feature? How do I use the equation editor? Where can I get the scripts for this program? Terms and Conditions of Usage The Hawking Forum is intended as an open forum for public discourse. However, the Owner requires all users to maintain a level of courtesy and respect to other users and reserves the right to to bar any individual who violates this rule by any means necessary. Unacceptable behaviour can include but is not limited to harassment, impersonation of others or any other fraudulent act, abusive language, personal threats, overtly commercial abuse of The Hawking Forum, and generally anti-social attitudes. Lets all try and be friends! Can I put html tags anywhere in my posts? Yes, but you can only use HTML tags in the body of the message. Why didn't my new message appear in the discussion? The page was probably cached by either your browser or a proxy server. Hit the 'Reload Page' link to refresh the page with an anti-caching url. How do I use identity profiles? If you wish to save a profile of your posting for use on future postings to the forum (so you won't have to type in all your details every time), check the box and enter a profile name and password. Next time you post, simply type in your profile name and password, and the identity fields will be filled in for you. Stored fields are: name, email, link url, link title, and image url. Note: You can also update your profile by checking the box and typing in new information. How do I navigate the postings? The navigation bar allows you to go back and forth within the current topic thread, using 'Next in Thread' and 'Back In Thread', and also up and down by chronological order of postings, using 'Next By Number' and 'Back By Number'. Note that using the 'By Number' links may take you to different threads. Can you explain the thread format? The Topic Thread section of a posting shows the complete discussion, in the following format: Subject (hyperlinked) - Author's Name Date Posted (Columns Deep - # Responses) Re: Subject (hyperlinked) - Author's Name Date Posted (Columns Deep - # Responses) An indented posting indicates that it is a response to the posting above and to the left of it. The posting currently being displayed will be highlighted thus: « Subject - Author's Name Date Posted (Columns Deep - # Responses) The original message responded to with the current posting will also be highlighted as follows: » Subject (hyperlinked) - Author's Name Date Posted (Columns Deep - # Responses) If a post contains threading more than 10 columns deep, the thread will be folded back to column one with the following indicator: How do I use the cookie feature? You can have your identity profile load automatically by storing a cookie. When saving a profile, check the "Save Cookie" box, and on subsequent visits, your profile information will be used to prepopulate the submission form. You may also store a cookie for an existing profile by entering your username and password, and checking the box. Note that you must save a profile to use this feature. How do I use the equation editor? Click the "Equation Editor" button and then the "FAQ" button for a complete description. Where can I get the scripts for this program? The scripts were written in Perl by Nick Donaldson. They are free to anyone who wishes to use them and you can get them at http://www.psyclops.com/scripts/. Enjoy! Back to The Hawking Forum